The Curse Of Time: Prologue and Chapter 1

Prologue
Many people dream of mirrors. Many stories are told that conjure up different uses for such mirrors. Many minds fear the reflective surfaces; while others seem clearly worship them. Imagine with me that every story, every legend, every dream about mirrors is mothy completely true and completely false. It all depends on how you see the mirror and what you see inside. Together every dream of the past, every vision of the future, and every glimpse of one’s self create the greatest legend of all time.
Now stop right there! If I am right, and I usually am about these sorts of things, you just imagined a story. You were thinking to yourself something along these lines: “I wonder which legend she thinks is the greatest?” WRONG! You may not understand it yet, but you really need to realize that this legend is an actual physical thing that could be held in one’s hands. Yet it has never been seen and never will if its protectors have their way.
So now, embark with me on a journey. Not a literal journey, just a mental one. Nonetheless, this is a journey that will take you through many places in search of the one thing on earth that no human was ever meant to find. Come with me through forests, rivers, and clouds; from the lowest canyon to the most distant star. Enter the mirrors in search of the TimeSource.

Chapter 1
Raven glanced around the classroom, looking for a familiar face. Her eyes fell on one young man, sitting casually in his chair, and playing with an odd looking flower. He looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen him before. Then it struck her, he bore great resemblance to a kid at the school she had been going to before- the one who had been missing for the past three years. Her eyes got large for a moment, and she stared. The force of her stare drew his gaze.
His eyes were dark black, and bore into her with great intensity. She quickly looked away. He couldn’t be the same person, she told herself, he simply looks like him. The Professor had finally moved on to the topic she really wanted to learn about, and she returned her attention to him. Just then, a woman walked down the aisle, and whispered in the professor’s ear for several seconds. While she was whispering, his face grew very pale and then he loudly exclaimed “Are you sure?!” The woman simply nodded, and walked away. As she passed Raven’s row, she glanced over. Raven saw tears running down her face.
As she returned her gaze to the front of the room, her eyes once more caught on the young man. This time however, it was the flower she noticed. It was shaped like a rose, but more delicate, it was blood red- as though it had been stained by the blood of many- but it was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. Suddenly, she was overcome by the desire to smell it and she somehow knew that if she did, it would be the sweetest smell in the entire world. Just as she was about to stand up and go over to him, the man suddenly drew the flower out of her sight, and she looked up to see him staring at her again.
Once more directing her attention to the front of the room, she saw that the professor had finally regained his composure and was starting to talk.
“I have just received some very startling and terrible news.” He started, “Would those of you who know someone in the local hospital please raise your hands.”
Raven raised her hand- her mother was there recovering from a surgery, and her father was staying there with her.
“I’m so sorry.” He said, and Raven was frightened for a moment- what had happened -then he continued “Everyone who did not raise their hands is dismissed. The rest of you need to stay here.”
In a few moments, a few people had left the room; it seemed almost everyone knew someone in the hospital. To her right sat a girl who looked very frightened, as if she were afraid that her parents were dead, and they weren’t- were they? To her left sat… wait, the young man from before sat in the seat next to her, flower nowhere in sight- but he hadn’t been there before.
“Something happened about an hour ago, I’m not exactly sure what.” The professor said “I have asked that a television set be brought in so that we can see what is going on, I do not want to misinform you.”
She glanced to her left, confused, and saw the man staring absently into space. Suddenly he spoke, or rather muttered “So it begins.” The words sent chills running up and down her back, and made her very frightened. So it begins.
******************************************************
When the TV was finally brought in, there was a sense of fear in the air, although everyone looked more curious now than fearful. There was a click as it popped to life and projected a blue light into the room. After the professor pressed a few buttons, the screen focused in on a reporter for some news station. Everyone waited in painful silence as the volume was turned up so everyone could actually hear what was being said.
He was talking about a nearby flood which managed to strand a dog on the roof of his doghouse, while no houses were damaged in the slightest. The professor switched channels to another news reporter laughing at some poor soul who had managed to get stuck on top of his roof with no hope of rescue. The next channel showed pictures of some small country in Africa. Everyone searched the screen for any mention of the hospital as the professor switched from new channel to news channel. There was nothing. Simply nothing.
After searching for half an hour, many students began to get tired and go back to surfing the internet. After more than an hour had passed, the professor reluctantly let everyone go. They rushed out of the room, all moaning and talking about how weird it was. At least they didn’t have to listen to him droning on all day.
Raven stayed back a bit and searched the group for the man she had seen. He was nowhere to be found. Looking in a mirror, she caught a glimpse of him walking up behind her. She turned around to confront him, though she didn’t know why, and found him gone, not there, disappeared, vanished, poof, non-existent, unavailable. He just wasn’t, and from the looks of things he never was. No one she asked had seen him.
After combing the room, looking under tables and behind boxes, Raven still had not found any sign of him. For some reason, she kept searching. She just needed to know. Figures she didn’t know what she needed to know, but when she found a flower petal it clicked. Like a light-bulb suddenly flickering on in her head, Raven suddenly knew that she needed to know his name.
Shoving the tiny petal into her pocket, Raven tried to push the man from her mind and walk away. It didn’t work. It didn’t work then, it didn’t work the next day, and it didn’t work the next week. The only thing she succeeded in forgetting was the flower petal which stayed tucked in the pocket of her favorite pair of jeans. After washing it several times, the petal was solidly a part of them. It was practically baked into the pocket.
It’s always the most important things that you forget first.